One Step From the Edge
by Cornerofmadness
Summary: Malcolm only wants answers and a night free of his demons. He's about to get one of those things in the worst way possible.


**Title**\- One Step From the Edge

**Timeline/Spoilers** \- Assume spoilers up to the most recent episode and speculation on Pied-A-Terre

**Author's Note** \- written for written for Schweinsty in comment_fic for the prompt: Prodigal Son, Gil Arroyo + Malcolm Bright, "I should be angry, but at this point I'm just concerned." This contains speculation on who Eve is.

XXX

Gil squinted over Malcolm's shoulder while he was so engrossed in his phone, he didn't hear Gil crossing the squad's break room. A cup of something no doubt caffeinated rested at Malcolm's elbow and next to it was the remains of some egg drop soup and some mango sticky rice spring roll. He recalled those were among the things that Malcolm could stomach. Carbs were easy for him. The warm memories fizzled out when he saw what was on the phone.

"Bright," he hissed.

Malcolm tried to hide the phone and nearly fell off his seat, whipping around to meet Gil's eyes. "Just having some dinner." He blindly fumbled for the container of soup.

"Bright, if I had been one of your former colleagues." Gil set his jaw. He expected Malcolm to still be looking into Lazar but he also expected him to keep it out of the precinct.

Malcolm's head sank, chin almost brushing his chest. His eyes were rimmed in red. Gil wondered if he was so tired, he couldn't think straight. "Sorry. I just wanted to go over what we knew again over dinner."

"Tell me there was something more to dinner than soup and spring rolls."

Malcolm didn't meet his eyes nor did he answer.

"You can't look into Lazar here. I should be angry, but at this point I'm just concerned. You can't turn this into an obsession."

Malcolm stood. "How can I not, Gil? He was _there_. He had proof that the girl in the box was real. Finally, after twenty years I know for certain I was right. The FBI doesn't want my insights but how are we going to catch him or find her without them?"

Gil rested a hand on Malcolm's shoulder. "I am not arguing that but you can't do it here. Go home, get some rest. And eat your damn soup before you go." He smiled a little at that.

Malcolm mirrored it wearily. "I'll be more careful, Gil."

"See that you do." Gil wondered if this would be the end of it. He doubted it. "Call me later, fill me in on anything you've remembered or just to noodle the ideas around. But call me."

He nodded. "I will."

"Thank you." With that, Gil left him to the remains of his meager dinner. Malcolm might not be big on listening to orders but he usually would follow through on the important things.

XXX

Malcolm wasn't tired when he got home which he supposed was a good thing because he walked up to Eve who was buzzing his door. What did she want? She certainly liked to just drop in and he wondered briefly why he didn't hate that more. He was private. Maybe it was her concern for his mother that warmed him toward her. "Eve, what are you doing here?"

She whipped around, almost losing her balance. He had no idea how women walked on heels. His mother made it look effortless most days. "Oh, Malcolm. Sorry. I was in the area and I thought maybe you'd like to get a little late dinner."

"Sorry I've already eaten." As much as he planned to eat. He'd polished off his meal especially after Dani had come into the break room. He hadn't been sure Gil hadn't sent her in to check on him. Eve's smile faltered and he felt bad. "But if you'd like to come in for a while, that's fine. I wanted to say thank you for worrying about my mother."

"Did you check on her?" she asked as he unlocked the door and followed him in.

"She's all right, or as all right as she can be." For being stubborn. For somehow equating being a damn Milton meaning she couldn't take a vacation and get the hell out of Lazar's sights. Ainsley hadn't been willing to go either, not when she smelled a career-making story being born. "Can I get you a drink?"

Eve lit up. There was something about her face that niggled at his mind. Why was there something about her that got to him? "I'd like that, thanks. What do you have?"

He grimaced. He didn't keep much in the loft because with his mental issues, with his inability to sleep, numbing himself was tempting, too tempting. He didn't want to follow his mother in that. "I have scotch and there might be some wine in the fridge. If it is, it's been open a while."

"I'll have the scotch."

"Have a seat." He gestured to the couch. After feeding Sunshine, he poured the scotches and sat down with her.

For a while, all they did was talk about her work and he avoided talking about his, except for the whole exploding drugs thing. Eve thought it would be an amusing story but it really wasn't. Okay, him acting out was probably funny but he barely remembered any of it and hadn't had the fortitude to ask Dani about what he'd done before she slugged him. He did remember the hallucination that sent him off the deep end. He didn't tell Eve that.

The next thing he knew she wanted to see Sunshine and from there, standing in front of Sunshine's cage, he went off babbling how he'd never be normal, that she scared him. And she did for reasons he didn't fully understand. Yes, he'd not had a relationship of any kind in a long time. Being with anyone was scary for him. He had so many issues with intimacy but there was something else about her that scared him. And it wasn't that he was letting her open his shirt in spite of the fact they'd only known each other for less than an hour all told.

He didn't need Dr. Le Deux to tell him that risky sexual behavior was part of his big ball of mental issues but Malcolm didn't care. He needed to let go if just for a little while. Stripped to his boxers, Malcolm bounced onto his bed with Eve, ignoring the part of him that wanted to know why Eve had gotten to him.

Their lips warred and explored each other. As he fumbled for her bra, she tugged something out of her pocket. Before he could get a look at it, she slammed it into his thigh and lit him up. The taser hurt like hell and she kept it up until finally he succumbed.

When he came back to himself, Eve had his spare cuffs around his ankles and he was lashed down tight. She had zip tied the easy disconnect on his wrist cuffs so they couldn't be disengage from the leather straps which she had shortened to nothing. He couldn't move his hands to try and get free.

Eve sat at the foot end of his bed, watching him. "There you are. He said you were smart. He was afraid to send me here." She licked her lips. "Of course, you've made him angry, so angry. I've never seen him like that."

"I don't…" Malcolm trailed off.

"But you made mistakes, had us both doubting you were actually as smart as you think you are. He wanted me to see if you'd like to join him. I told him it was unlikely, no matter how much you're like your father."

"Paul, you're talking about Paul Lazar." Malcolm's stomach flipped, the whiskey threatening to make a return appearance. "Eve, you don't know what he is."

"Don't I? He saved my life. I know exactly who he is, my angel. Don't you recognize me, Malcolm?" Eve sat back, displaying herself. She ran a hand through her hair. "I know we were both so young the first time we met."

Malcolm's eyes widened. "That can't be." His father had called Paul about the girl in the box. He knew that much. Paul had confirmed it but had his father killed her? What had Paul done?

"He said he gave you my bracelet." Eve rolled off the bed and grabbed a handful of his hair, forcing him to look at her. "Your father would have murdered me. He gave me to Paul to dispose of but instead, he took pity on me, said I looked too innocent. I wasn't deserving of death."

"What do you want with me, Eve? Please, let me go."

"Like your father would have?"

"I'm _not_ my father! I tried to save you. I called the cops, I stopped him," Malcolm said and he didn't think it made an ounce of difference.

"Oh, I don't blame you, Malcolm. Your mother on the other hand." Eve shrugged. "I'm sure you understand what I mean. You've lived with that demanding drunk your whole life."

He struggled against his shackles getting nowhere. "Don't call her that. She's neither of those things." She might drink away her problems and was demanding but she was his mother. She always tried to care for him in her broken way. She loved him and that was all he needed to know.

Eve slapped him hard. "Behave, Malcolm. Paul is coming. He wants you to join us."

"I'm not going to."

"Really? He told me about the camping trip. You'll cross lines." Eve grinned at him.

He tried not to swallow hard. He didn't know what he'd done on that trip, not really but he couldn't let her know that. "I stop killers, Eve. I don't join them."

"Then, you'll probably die here." She took out a needle and thumbed off the cap. "This will keep you nice and quiet. I don't want to have to hit you with the taser again. That can't be good for your heart."

"Please, Eve, don't."

His pleas fell on deaf ears. The sedatives would suck him down soon enough and he would be at their mercy. Malcolm doubted they had any.

XXX

Gil opened the door to Malcolm's building, cursing him for not following through and calling him. He'd texted and called but Malcolm's phone just went to voice mail and the texts went unanswered. Malcolm was so close to a break down, having been there with the kid before, Gil decided to go check on him. If he didn't and something happened, if Malcolm got overwhelmed by his demons, Gil would never forgive himself.

Slowly opening the door to the loft, he froze, hearing a woman's voice. The fact that Malcolm might have a lover over and that's why he didn't call or text back never entered his mind. He almost shut the door and sneaked off but then he caught a snippet of the conversation. This wasn't love talk. If it was some kind of creepy role play, he'd apologize later.

Toeing his shoes off in the hall, Gil slipped inside, pulling his gun. The woman didn't notice him. He crept forward on stockinged feet, silent as a cat. She was too close to Malcolm for him to get a shot. His best bet was to get across the room and get control over her. Malcolm's eyes widened a fraction but they were barely focused. His slurred his words trying to talk the woman out of, oh god, did he just say that she was going to hand Malcom over to Lazar?

She suddenly turned, feeling someone behind her. Gil leapt catching her around the waist one handed and used his weight to bear her down. He hadn't a clear shot so he didn't risk it. She struggled hard but he was well used to tossing down and cuffing people bigger than her. He cuffed her up to the frame of Malcolm's bed.

Gil holstered his gun, called for back up, and then freed Malcolm, leaving the woman cursing and kicking on the floor. Malcolm could barely focus on him. "What did she give you, Bright? Come on, kid. Stay with me."

"Sedatives," he slurred. "She's…."

"With Lazar? Yes, I heard her."

"He'll deal with you both," Eve growled.

"Not tonight he isn't," Gil shot back.

"No…she's the girl in the box." Malcolm's head lolled to the side, his eyes fluttering shut and then he rallied. "Paul…saved her instead of disposing of her."

Gil blinked. He could never have guessed that. "That's one hell of a claim, kid. Is it true?" he asked that one of the woman. 

"Not saying anything without my lawyer."

"You're going to need one," he shot back, sitting on the edge of the bed and tried to help Malcolm sit up. Bright wasn't able. Over Malcolm's vociferous complaints, he called for an ambulance. "You're going to the hospital, Malcolm. You're hurt. I won't let them give you more sedatives, promise." Gil didn't think they could anyhow, not safely. Too much of that and the breathing would shut down.

"Why…are you here?" Malcolm was slipping under and Gil doubted he could stop it.

"You were supposed to call me. When you didn't, I worried."

Malcolm smiled softly as the woman swore. "Think Lazar is coming."

"And we'll be ready for him," Gil promised. He closed a hand over Malcolm's squeezing lightly. Malcolm sighed and dropped off to sleep just as Gil heard the police sirens arriving. He alerted his team that Lazar might be in the area. He hoped so. He wanted this to end tonight.

XXX

Malcolm woke in the hospital, thankfully not out of a nightmare. His mother slept in a reclining chair next to his bed and sitting on the other side, mostly asleep, was Gil. His eyes opened when he heard Malcolm shifting around.

Gil smiled at him. "Oh, there you are. How are you feeling?"

"Like an idiot for letting her in," he admitted. "Lazar?"

Gil shook his head, dashing Malcolm's hopes. "He never showed. She was supposed to call him. He must have assumed something went wrong."

"Like you did. Thank you," he said, not quite able to meet Gil's eyes. Shame burned through him, warring with despair and shock. "How can she be the girl in the box?"

"We don't know that she is, Malcolm." Gil put a hand on his arm. "She could be playing a role."

He shook his head. "I don't think so. It's real, Gil. It's her."

"Maybe so. But we can talk about this later. You still have a head full of sedatives and you were shocked badly. You have a nasty burn from it. I want you to shut your eyes and sleep some more. You need it."

Malcolm shook his head. "I want to go home."

"And I want a paid vacation in Hawaii. You need to stay here. You're safe. I have a police detail outside." Gil glanced at the door as if thinking the same thing Malcolm was: that hadn't helped the last time Lazar wanted to kill someone in a hospital. "And you have me and the team. We're here. So, we can deal with this all in the morning. Shut your eyes, kid." Gil patted Malcolm's wrist.

Malcolm turned his face toward his mother who was out cold. She probably had as many sedatives on board as he did. What must she be feeling knowing she'd pushed Eve toward him? It hurt to think on it. He sighed and let his eyes shut. He didn't want to rush into confessing his lack of good judgement. It could wait. He wondered if Eve would end up in a place like Claremont. Malcolm forced that from his mind, concentrating instead on the heat of Gil's hand as it rested on his arm. What had he done to deserve such a good second father? Whatever it was, he was grateful. That happier thought in mind, Malcolm let go and slipped back under, hoping for not dreams, for a moment's peace.

**Author's Note**\- I wrote this based off a lot of fan speculation that Eve could be the girl in the box. She looks a little young for that to me but it was fun to toy with that idea. I guess we'll see soon enough.


End file.
